News

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) is expanding its technology portfolio of speciality gases. (Necsa subsidiary Pelchem has long been renowned for its production of fluorochemicals, including gases and acids.) Not only is the group adding production capabilities for a new product but, perhaps even more importantly, it has developed a new way to produce it, which also increases the purity of the product, while reducing costs.Go to Source

Twelve innovative entrepreneurs in the Western Cape have secured total funding of R6.5-million from the Design Innovation Seed Fund to take their ideas to the market. Launched last year, the seed fund was a joint partmership between the Western Cape’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism and the Technology Innovation Agency.Go to Source

Leading global development organizations are just beginning to utilize mobile technologies to improve the efficiency and quality of the data they collect, manage, analyze, and share. However, there is so much more the international development community could be doing with this powerful technology to make better decisions and meet broader global development goals.

This two-hour self-paced online course developed by the Digital Development team at USAID, the mSTAR Program at FHI 360, and TechChange, explores these opportunities and offers a comprehensive introduction to key terms, concepts, technologies, and strategies, including:

How to assess a mobile data collection project and required resources

How to design a project to achieve the maximum impact possible

How to implement a project to take advantage of appropriate technologies

How to visualize and share the collected data with relevant communities

Sign up now for this fun and practical learning environment with a mixture of animations, video interviews, scenario-based case studies, and interactive exercises including designing and undertaking a survey using mobile tools.

It is free, and accessible from anywhere with an internet connection and anytime no matter your time zone.

South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Algeria’s University of Blida have agreed to set up a Joint Centre of Excellence (JCoE) for aeronautics research. The agreement takes the form of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed at the recent International Exhibition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the North African country.Go to Source

Scientists have made the most comprehensive map yet of African genetic variation and say it should help them learn more about the role genes play in diseases such as malaria, haemorrhagic fever and hypertension in populations there. Publishing the findings in the journal Nature on Wednesday, Deepti Gurdasani of Britain’s Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said that despite Africa being the world’s most genetically diverse region, relatively little is known about potential genetic risks for disease among its populations.Go to Source

South African Airways (SAA) announced on Friday that it was implementing an innovative technique to ensure more efficient and more rapid landings at airports. The technique, designated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation as the Required Navigational Performance-Authorisation Required (RNP-AR), is operational at Cape Town International Airport.

An appropriately equipped aircraft, with flight crew trained in the technique, can make more direct and curving automatic approaches to (and also departures from) airports with air traffic controllers who have also been trained to use it. Previously, instrument approaches to airports required the aircraft to make dog-leg approaches with straight flight segments between the turns.

Thus, RNP-AR reduces the time taken by an airliner to land and cuts the distance flown in the vicinity of the airport. This, in turn, reduces fuel expenditure and engine emissions. “Research conducted by French company Airbus ProSky showed potential savings of over 690 t of fuel and a reduction of some 230 hours of flight time per year, based on an average saving of 100 kg of fuel per approach and a reduction of two minutes flying time for each approach,” reported SAA Senior First Officer (and project manager) Andrew Smit.Go to Source

Currently 10% of the world’s population does not have access to ‘improved’ water resources, nearly 20% are without access to energy, and almost 35% lack access to improved sanitation.

These gaps are due to challenges such as last mile distribution, operation and maintenance capabilities and costs, and payment ability and collection. Furthermore, increasing urbanisation, ageing infrastructure, and lack of investment are resulting in millions of people, who are considered to have access, living with increasingly less reliable services.

The GSMA’s Mobile for Development Utilities programme is focused on looking at how mobile technology can be used to facilitate access to affordable and reliable energy, water and sanitation, which are vital for health and wellbeing, and can also help reduce poverty and drive economic growth.

A lack of access to such services often disproportionately impacts the economic opportunities, health and safety of girls and women. M4D Utilities seeks to identify and support innovative mobile-enabled solutions that will improve the lives of many, but especially this group of society.

To combat this issue, the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities programme is proud to announce a $5 million Innovation Fund, supported by DFID, to:

Accelerate efforts using mobile technology to enable improved or increased access to energy, water and/or sanitation services for underserved communities

Identify innovative business models that can support mobile innovations for energy, water and sanitation services

Generate knowledge about the application of mobile enabled services which can be shared with the development community and mobile industry

Stimulate productive partnerships between mobile operators/tower companies and energy providers, water providers, sanitation service providers, utilities, NGOs, entrepreneurs and academics to achieve these objectives at scale

Sounds cool, eh? Then be quick to apply to the two stage application process. Concept notes due December 7th, 2014